


The Weapon Shops of Isher

by PeachesandBones



Series: Imzy Challenge Responses [1]
Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Angst, Challenge Response, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-18
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-09 10:08:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8886847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeachesandBones/pseuds/PeachesandBones
Summary: Written for a challenge at Imzy.
They're on an away mission, and Jim is flirting with the first alien he meets. Again.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for the [Kirk/McCoy](https://www.imzy.com/kirk_mccoy) Imzy challenge! We had to choose a SciFi pulp novel cover to write a fic on. I chose [this one.](http://www.icshi.net/worlds/images/large/Thrilling%20Wonder%20Stories%20Feb%201949%20--%20The%20weapon%20shops%20of%20Isher.jpg)

Leonard didn’t particularly know why he was part of this investigation. Starfleet had received intelligence that the planet Isher was a storehouse for weapons which had been banned by intergalactic treaty, and they were making a business of supplying them to the Romulans. It wasn’t particularly surprising. There had been a vote on Isher about whether to join the Federation of Planets, eeking out a loss at 50.9% and resulting in a short but bloody civil war, which was more of a proud tradition of the planet rather than a concerning development. In the aftermath, Starfleet had negotiated a non-allied treaty for the planet to supply dilithium crystals, and apparently Isher had been playing nice with their enemies as well.

The planet itself was uninspiring. The air was so dry Leonard felt he might choke, so hot that he could feel sweat wetting his undershirt, the landscape dull and grey and the Isherites suspicious and hostile. In McCoy’s eyes, as a medical officer he had no reason to be down there, disguised as a federation trading team, investigating an illegal cache of weapons.

“C’mon, Bones.” Jim had grinned the night before as they lay in the sweaty afterglow. “You know I hate leaving you on the ship. I need you.”

And so, like every other time Jim had said “Jump!”, Leonard had asked how high, and here he was, on the planet, looking for God knows what, because he wasn’t trained for this kind of mission.

And, of course, Jim had found the first female humanoid on the planet (and the only one willing to engage with the landing party) and started sweet talking her, and Leonard had internally screamed, holding his breath to hold back his anger until he thought he might pass out.

“Doctor?” Spock asked, tilting his head curiously. Kirk turned his head away from the busty red head, graciously sparing his CMO a glance.

“I’m gonna go on. Continue your… search.... here.” McCoy said stoutly, raising an eyebrow. The captain frowned.

“I don’t think it’s safe for you to be on your-”

“I have my phaser.” He growled before turning on his heel and marching out of the tavern. He logically knew that Jim was right - between the distrust of Starfleet among the Isherites and the purported weapons they had, he’d be a sitting duck. But McCoy was a proud southerner, and if there was one thing worth dying for, it was his dignity. Apparently it wasn’t worth the pain of ending his relations with the captain, however, and the thought caused a new swell of rage to bubble beneath his skin. Unconsciously he picked up his pace, half running across Astim, trying to get as far away from the captain and his god forsaken charm as possible.

He had thought about ending it, of course. Jim and him had started having sex right after the episode with Nancy Crater, after weeks of the blond egomaniac mockingly calling him ‘Plum’ and McCoy kissing him to shut him up. There had never been a discussion about the sex, what it meant or didn't mean, but it became clear to Leonard as he watched the captain charm and fuck his way through half the galaxy. Too many times to count he had steeled himself, walking into the captain’s quarters with the mantra ‘This is over’ deafening his thoughts. Yet, the words had always died on his tongue at the sly grin of happiness on the captain’s face, the invitation written in his body language, and Leonard hated himself all the more for it come morning.

He shouldn’t have been surprised. Jim embodied that rare element of male sensuality, overconfident without being overbearing, coy when needed and aggressive when the time called for it. He was a man of many tactics, and McCoy had seen him use his natural prowress to his advantage. He had been naive to think that perhaps he had been something different to the captain.

 

He reached the edge of the city and went into the last shop before the grey nothingness consumed the landscape, feeling beads of sweat begin to run down his forehead. When he stepped inside he groaned inwardly as he saw the plush furniture and inhaled the overpowering scent of sweet fruits and vanilla. He had obviously wandered into some kind of whore house. In his younger years, he would have been delighted. Now he just felt too old and embittered to appreciate the false charms of someone offering him another moment of faux intimacy.

A woman sauntered to the front, another beautiful, busty redhead in a golden bra and a waist high skirt that wrapped around her, displaying an hourglass figure that McCoy wished he could find the fortitude to appreciate.

“Hello.” Her voice was a sensual alto, although the translator used the same robotic tone for all of its interpretations. “What are you seeking?”

“I need some subatomic destabilizers.” He barked back. The weapon had been banned by across the known universe under the Convention on Torture. They worked slowly - one shot from the weapon systematically travelled through the recipient’s body, breaking the bonds between the atoms of their flesh until they were essentially charcoal. The victim was immediately rendered helpless from the pain, but it could take minutes to die.

The woman carefully took him in, black irises idly trailing from his dark hair to his Starfleet regulation boots. She eventually came back and met his gaze, but stared through him, as though he was a spectre of the man he had once been. He itched with irritation and self-consciousness.

“You have blue eyes.” She murmered. “We don’t have such a colour in our own species.” This didn’t surprise McCoy - the planet had two suns, and lighter coloured eyes wouldn’t have faired well in terms of evolution. He wondered if Jim was hearing the same thing from the woman in the tavern, if she was sharing one of his thousand lustful glances, letting the mutual attraction build to a crescendo.

“Do you have the destabilizers?” He demanded.

“We don’t sell such weapons.” She replied, and gracefully sauntered up closer to him. “Why would a human want it? It is illegal in the federation.”

“We’ve come to take a batch of dilithium crystals.” Leonard started reciting the cover story they had been given. “Whoever controls the crystals controls the federation, and we’ve grown tired of living under their thumb.” The woman nodded sagely, and went into the backroom again. She returned with exactly what McCoy had asked for, and for a moment he was shocked. He hadn’t expected to get anywhere - he wasn’t a diplomat or particularly good at bullshitting people. Yet, perhaps in this case his gruffness had worked for him. They were a straight forward people, who understood ambition and death as principles to live by.

“We have a limited number of them. They are quite time consuming to produce.” Leonard just nodded, suddenly feeling like an idiot. What did he do now?

“But perhaps I have other wares that could interest you.” She offered, setting the weapon down on a table as she began a slow and steady saunter to him. Her hips rolled suggestively, her gaze was dark and full of promise. “For such an exotic specimen, I would forgo any charges.”

Bones should be aroused. Every cell in his body should have been begging to fuck a beautiful woman who was throwing herself at him. But all he could feel was irritation and anger. Once again some incredibly sensual, charismatic creature luring him in with his own lust, stealing what he hadn’t even known he had to give, things that meant more to him than the taker. Kirk had taught him, indirectly, that there were many types of weapons.

She reached out and drew a slender finger down his cheek, and instinctively McCoy caught her wrist and pushed it away, his grip digging bruises into the soft flesh. She looked at him, calm and questioning, and Bones reached down to his hip and pressed the button on the homing device.

 

The security team had beamed down instantly, the whorehouse had been raided, the woman and five others taken into custody. Of course, the Isherites had immediately smelled trouble in the air, and the battle had begun. Despite their warring culture, they were severely lacking in tactical knowledge, and the battle had been short but brutal, leaving 10 redshirts and 17 Isherites dead before ending in a Starfleet ‘victory’.

All Bones wanted was to go back to the ship, tend to the wounded, and dull his frustration with a drink. Jim, however, intercepted him on his way back to the transporter site, stepping in time with Leonard's longer strides.

“Bones, we need to talk.” He muttered. Leonard took a deep breath.

“Yes Jim. We do.”


End file.
